"No, Babseley, I'll phone you to-morrow and come down. If you see me flying about in a machine don't be surprised; I'm to use their big car as much as I like. But it would be a little thick to have us seen together--just yet." "I'll see that the whole social set gets a draft from me that will open their eyes," Trudy promised, loath to have him go. "If old man Constantine knew I drew that money down!" Gay chuckled with delight. "When his favourite after-dinner story is to tell how Steve O'Valley lay on his stomach and watched goats for an education." "I'd hate to have my finger between his teeth when he learns the truth," Trudy prompted. She spent half the night taking inventory of her wardrobe, her debts, and her personal charms, practising airs and graces before her mirror and calculating how long the thousand would last them. All the world was before her, to Trudy's way of thinking. She would be Mrs. Gaylord Vondeplosshe, and with Gay's name and her brain--well, to give Trudy's own sentiments, they would soon be able to carry the whole show in their grip and use the baggage cars to bring back the profits! CHAPTER V Gaylord's sudden marriage and departure for New York caused no small comment. In the Faithful family Mary and Luke stood against Mrs. Faithful, who declared with meaning emphasis that some girls had more sense than others and it was better to marry and make a mistake the first time than to remain an old maid. With Trudy's style and high spirits she was going to carry Gaylord into the front ranks without any effort. Luke described the event by saying that a bad pair of disturbers had teamed for life, and relied upon Mary to take up the burden of the proof. "Don't mourn so, mother. I'm a happy old maid," she insisted when the comments grew too numerous for her peace of mind. "Trudy was not the sort to blush unseen, and it's a relief not to have to cover up her mistakes at the office. Everything will be serene once more. As for Gay's future--I suppose he is likely to bring home anything from a mousetrap to a diamond tiara. I don't pretend to understand his ways." "Of course it isn't like Mrs. O'Valley's wedding," her mother resumed, with a resonant sniffle. "You have been so used to hearing about her ways that poor little Trudy seems cheap. Perhaps your mother and brother and the little home seem so, too. But we can't all be Gorgeous Girls, and I think Trudy was right to take Gaylord when he had the money for a ring and a license." "He had more than that," Mary ruminated. "People don't walk to New York." "Did he win it on a horse race?" Luke had an eye to the future. "Maybe his father's friends helped him," Mrs. Faithful added. "Can't prove anything by me." Mary shook her head.